[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dragon-lies-hidden":3,"chapter-the-dragon-lies-hidden-the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-969":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dragon Lies Hidden",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2290267,4477,"Chapter 969","the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-969",969,"\u003Cp>Within the Great Treasured Pure Land, wind and clouds suddenly churned, thunder cracked from empty space, and a bolt of lightning struck, collapsing a corner of the Scripture Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monks, young and old, were thrown into panic; some elderly monks wept uncontrollably, muttering, “The End Dharma, the End Dharma!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, countless golden lotuses bloomed in midair, chanting sutras echoed endlessly, boundless golden light erupted from a single point and spread without limit, eventually covering the entire sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several monks, their bodies suffused in gold and halos glowing behind their heads, flew in and stood motionless around the Scripture Hall. Moments later, countless lotus thrones materialized above, revealing several towering Buddha forms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a corner below, a handsome young monk, delicate as a woman, secretly looked up—and suddenly realized those Buddha forms were not seated in empty space, but upon a mountain of unimaginable size, covered entirely in lotus thrones, most of which were empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vast majority of those vacant thrones were wrapped in thick black mist and bloodstains; only a few glowed faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young monk was stunned—this scene clearly resembled the aftermath of a great calamity, utterly contradicting the sutras and everything his masters had taught him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He whispered to a young monk beside him, “Master, why are so many lotus thrones on the mountain empty?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young monk whispered back, “Many eyes are watching up there—don’t stare around! And don’t speak of this! Empty thrones are a good sign; otherwise, how could you even be here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young monk fell silent, but kept sneaking glances. All the Vajra guardians and Arhats had manifested their divine forms; Bodhisattvas had even revealed their true bodies. It was said that the Arhat stage abroad equaled that of an Immortal—yet within the Pure Land alone, over a dozen Arhats and Bodhisattvas had appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the young monk felt puzzled: it was said the Tai Chu Palace had only two Immortals. If that were true, the Great Treasured Pure Land should have long since dominated the world—why had the Tai Chu Palace claimed the title of First Immortal Sect?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, invisible gazes swept across the Scripture Tower, yet none of the Bodhisattvas spoke—the atmosphere was suffocating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, a Bodhisattva seated high above finally spoke: “Inventory all scriptures. Identify all missing and newly added texts. Those named must remain; the rest return to your duties.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, several monks in saffron robes approached, chanting dharma names; those called were to return to the Scripture Hall for verification.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Qing Xing, Hong Lian.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young monk and the young novice stepped forward together before the fat monk. The fat monk glanced at the novice, frowned slightly with clear distaste, and said, “Qing Xing, how many times have I told you—don’t give your disciples arbitrary dharma names! ‘Hong Lian’? What kind of name is that? It doesn’t even belong to any disciple lineage—change it immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young monk named Qing Xing replied, “I’ll change it right away, I’ll change it later.” He grabbed the novice’s arm and pulled him into the Scripture Hall. The fat monk shook his head—he knew this fellow only wanted to delay; the dharma name would never actually be changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just before entering the hall, the novice suddenly felt something—looked up—and saw a lotus throne on the Spirit Mountain, which had previously held a faint golden glow, suddenly crack open. The Buddha light vanished; thick black mist poured endlessly from the fissure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The novice felt an indescribable unease, but Qing Xing yanked him into the hall and whispered, “Whatever you just saw—never speak of it! Remember that!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though confused, the novice always revered his master, so he nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the hall, the scenery shifted—before them stretched endless rows of bookshelves, each towering several zhang high and dozens of zhang wide. One shelf had been completely shattered, scriptures scattered across the floor, some still burning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young monk moved away from the burning books, went to a corner, and idly pulled out a scripture to flip through. Hong Lian imitated him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, from behind the shelves, a sigh arose: “Enlightenment positions were never plentiful—and now one more is gone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another aged voice replied, “This time is different. A new enlightenment position has emerged—only then could the old one vanish.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But the new position isn’t on the Spirit Mountain…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Silence!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a pause, the aged voice whispered, “Who could have imagined someone would make such a grand vow? The shattering of an enlightenment position is only natural.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They fell silent, preparing to leave—when two elderly monks stepped out from behind the shelves and saw the young monk and the novice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four bald heads froze. None had expected fellow disciples in this secluded corner. They bowed with clasped palms, then parted ways, as if nothing had happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Wei Yuan was in Guantun County, most of his attention remained in Qingming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was now deep autumn; Qingming’s overall state for the year had become clear, and the reports sent to Wei Yuan now included full-year projections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Hongjing Year Two, Qingming had now gone over a year without war—so the story went, many bandits could no longer see their own toes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Chuhe shuttled between Ji State and Qingming, making round trips every few days without rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Qingming, Master Chuhe had cultivated land to forty million mu. New fields grew medicinal herbs, hemp, cotton, even pasture grass. Originally, Master Chuhe had refused to plant grain—but under Wei Yuan’s firm insistence, he had finally allocated half the land for grain.\u003C\u002Fp>",920,"2026-06-20T03:38:38.899Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","519dd319fd3cdac0f45f04ff1d377dbb9779f5fd6e3ca2fe32ee6056b2631027","the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-970","the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-968",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-lies-hidden-cover.jpg"]